Upper Chester River Watershed Project

Mohammed Kemal & United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Watershed Description The Choptank River is one of the major tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay located on the Delmarva Peninsula. The river is 178 square miles, and the watershed consists of 58% agricultural land, 33% forested land, and only 9% urban land. The watershed project provides numerous unique features to the national Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) effort. The soil in the region is poorly drained and has a very flat topography. Therefore, farmers have been known to utilize a scheme of drainage gullies to facilitate the movement of water into streams. The watershed consists of both Kent and Queen Anne’s County, where 50% of the watershed is in Kent County and 49% is in Queen Anne’s County.

Results and discussion This project shows that winter cover crops are important for the day to day farmer due to their impact in improving the quality of the soil, reduce erosion, increase the fertility of the soil, suppress weeds and control weeds. Some things to consider when planting these cover crops is that if the farmers do not properly get rid of these cover crops, they can turn in to weed themselves. They can also harbor rubs, cutworms, or armyworms that can be hazardous to the cash crops because they will attack them. Though cover crop management is important, another factor is land suitability. The results from the DEM maps show that the areas that these crops are planted are in the low DEM zones (bottom left of image). The NCDL data also shows, the specific places the different types of crops were planted within the watershed.

References United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) "Ohio State University Fact Sheet." Cover Crop Fundamentals, AGF-142-99. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2014. Use, Table 1: Land, Map: Land Use, Table 2: Land Use Indicators, and Table 3: Living Resource Indicators. "Watershed Restoration Action Strategy."Upper Chester River (June 2006): n. pag. CB Trust. Web. Ruckman, Mark W. "Methods of Surface Characterization — Volume 4: Specimen Handling, Preparation and Treatments in Surface Characterization." Materials Characterization 46.1 (2001): 81-82. Web. Nelson, J., and P. Spies. "The Upper Chester River Watershed: Lessons Learned from a Focused, Highly Partnered, Voluntary Approach to Conservation."Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 68.2 (2013): 41A-4A. Web. Final. "Watershed Report for Biological Impairment of Upper Chester River Watershed in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties, Maryland." FINAL (n.d.): n. pag. Jan. 2012. Web. Watershed Report for Biological Impairment of Upper Chester River Watershed in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties, MarylandFINAL(n.d): n. pah. Water Protection Division U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency, Region III, Jan. 12. Web. Nation Elevation Data: DEM USGS: Landsat Data

Abstract The purpose of this project is to show the importance of winter cover crops and their use in the Upper Chester River Watershed. This project will discuss the various areas of the Choptank River Watershed, where the winter cover crops are being used from small areas of farmland to areas where corn and wheat are prominent. The NCDL imagery will show the various areas the different crop types are planted while, the DEM data of the watershed will evaluate the elevation and slopes.

Acknowledgement Data Collected From: Dean Hiveley: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Data & Methods To complement the use of satellite imagery, annual 30-m raster maps of the National Cropland Data Layer (NCDL) were obtained from USDA-NASS. This dataset, which is derived from remote sensing and crop phenology, provided a yearly mapped classification of summer crop type. For comparison, the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) county statistics for crop acreages were obtained. This tool was programmed in ArcMap 10.1 to overlay the NCDL with satellite NDVI imagery and calculate the area of each NCDL crop type that fell within each of four vegetation index classes determined as: minimal biomass: 0.1 < NDVI < 0.3; low biomass: 0.3 < NDVI < 0.45; medium biomass: 0.45 < NDVI < 0.6; and high biomass: NDVI > 0.6. This allowed mapping of winter ground cover outcomes following each predominant type of summer row crop (corn, soybean, double crop winter wheat / soybean, hay) (Dean Hively). Then an ASTER DEM imagery was used to reclassify different areas based on height; it was also used to calculate the slope of the overall imagery by location. Importance of Cover Crops Cover crops have been used for a long time, but there has been a massive transition from cover crops to herbicides and fertilizers. We are now seeing another transition back to the cover crops as farmers start to understand their importance. Researchers and universities have started to experiment with cover crops once more. They are researching how these cover crops can be used in modern farming practices and are finding new ways to supplement them.